High school basketball: No. 13 Roselle Catholic, No. 18 Sidwell Friends and No. 21 Wheeler headline State Champions Invitational field

By Jordan Divens Mar 15, 2023, 12:09pm

Corner Canyon, Curtis and Yazoo City round out the six-team field.

The second year of the State Champions Invitational features an expanded six-team field and tips off April 6 with all games streaming on ESPN's family of networks.

No. 13 Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.), No. 18 Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) and No. 21 Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) headline the bracket as the only MaxPreps Top 25 teams. Wheeler and Sidwell were given the No. 1 and 2 seeds, respectively, along with a first-round bye in the three-day event April 6-8 at Georgetown University.

Roselle Catholic and Curtis (University Place, Wash.) face off in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 quarterfinal game while Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) and Yazoo City (Miss.) meet in the No. 3 vs. No. 6 game.

In order to qualify, teams must have won their state association tournament.


State Champions Invitational

April 6
6 p.m. — No. 4 Roselle Catholic vs. No. 5 Curtis — ESPNU
8 p.m. — No. 3 Corner Canyon vs. No. 6 Yazoo City — ESPN+

April 7
4 p.m. — Corner Canyon/Yazoo City winner vs. No. 2 Sidwell Friends — ESPNU
6 p.m. — Roselle Catholic/Curtis winner vs. No. 1 Wheeler — ESPN+

April 8
12 p.m. — Championship
North Carolina signee Simeon Wilcher looks to guide No. 13 Roselle Catholic to the State Champions Invitational title. (Photo: Catalina Fragoso)
North Carolina signee Simeon Wilcher looks to guide No. 13 Roselle Catholic to the State Champions Invitational title. (Photo: Catalina Fragoso)
Although top-ranked senior Isaiah Collier is unlikely to play in the event due to competing in the Nike Hoop Summit that weekend, Wheeler received the top seed after capturing the GHSA Class AAAAAAA state title with a record of 26-6. The Wildcats have numerous other high-major prospects that will look to make up for Collier's absence including USC signee Arrinten Page and Iowa State signee Jelani Hamilton.

After a slow start to the season while playing without star junior Caleb Williams, Sidwell Friends is 17-1 since he returned from injury and captured the DCSAA Class AA state title. The Quakers come into the event as the two seed with a record of 27-4 on the season.

Corner Canyon comes into the event with a record of 25-2 after capturing the UHSAA Class 6A state title. The Chargers featured MaxPreps Utah Player of the Year Brody Kozlowski, who averaged 17.7 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists.



MaxPreps Washington Player of the Year Zoom Diallo leads Curtis into the field. The five-star junior helped guide the Vikings to a 28-3 record and their second consecutive WIAA Class 4A state title.

North Carolina signee Simeon Wilcher is the catalyst for a talent-laden Roselle Catholic roster. Following an 0-3 start to the season, the Lions finished the year 22-2 while claiming the NJSIAA Group Tournament Non-Public B title. It is unknown if Duke signee MacKenzie Mgbako will play in the event.

Yazoo City enters the tournament with 19 consecutive victories after claiming the MHSAA Class 4A state title. The Indians had a record of 30-5 this season.